Injustice 2's Next Character Is A Deep Cut From DC's Golden Age

Injustice 2 developer NetherRealm Studios today revealed the latest addition to the game's growing roster: Doctor Fate, a series newcomer who's totally not the same guy as Marvel's Doctor Strange. Though not as widely known as heroes like Superman and Batman, the helmet-clad sorcerer actually debuted way back in 1940, and various incarnations have existed in the DC Comics universe ever since. Still, he could easily qualify as one of the more "obscure characters" NetherRealm studio head Ed Boon previously referenced.

Doctor Fate joins an already diverse cast, one that Injustice 2 designer John Edwards promises will be "the largest roster that we've ever done." And according to Edwards, Fate brings something totally new to that lineup: "We like to have characters that have a lot of variety--especially in their moves and attacks--so we can make sure we don't just have one type of character. We don't want every character to be just like Batman or Superman. So we try to find characters that have unique powers, unique abilities, things that the rest of cast don't necessarily have. And we looked back and we were like, 'Hey, we don't really have a predominant spellcasting, magic-based character.' Doctor Fate, being essentially the most powerful magic user in the DC universe, seemed like just a real good fit."

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While it's unclear how Doctor Fate's presence will impact Injustice 2's narrative, Edwards did provide some insights into Fate's fighting style during a recent preview event. "He is one of the more complex characters, mechanically so," said Edwards, "He doesn't have any straight physical attacks. So his in-close combat is not as good as Batman, obviously, or Black Canary. He fits a ranged playstyle, for the most part. He's very strong at controlling space and keeping his opponent away from him. In addition to that, he uses traps: he can place ankhs down in different locations on the battlefield which will heal him or damage his opponents if they are standing in the field. He can kind of control space in those ways."

To further illustrate Doctor Fate's unique tactics, Edwards explained one of his most creative abilities: "He has a very interesting special where he can lock the interactables in the background to prevent the opponent from being able to use them for a short period of time. So because of our 'background interacts' [are] an integral part of the gameplay, it's a very powerful ability to have-- to essentially shut your opponent out of being able to use those things as escape routes or for big damage. It really allows him to keep the pace of the fights how he wants to. That's probably one of the coolest specials we have in the game."

Injustice 2 launches for PS4 and Xbox One on May 16 and will be accompanied by both a mobile game and a comic that explores the events between the original and the sequel. Expect more coverage of the game's story mode and controversial gear system in the near future.